CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA—According to a report in The State, researchers led by archaeologist Michael Scafuri of Clemson University suggest the air circulation system aboard the Confederate submarine Hunley was not in use when the vessel and its eight-man crew disappeared on February 17, 1864, after a surprise attack on the USS Housatonic, a Union ship participating in the blockade of Charleston Harbor. The submarine is thought to have held enough oxygen to keep the crew alive for about two hours before it would need to be replenished by either rising to the surface and opening the hatches, or activating the submarine’s stealth air circulation system, which was comprised of a rubber hose connected to snorkel tubes and hand-pumped bellows. Scafuri said the snorkel tubes, however, were found in the lowered position, and the rest of the system had been disconnected and tucked underneath the submarine’s crew bench. Union ships are likely to have been in Charleston Harbor, making rising to the surface a dangerous proposition, he explained. The researchers are also trying to determine if the now highly corroded air system had been working properly. For more on Hunley, go to "History's 10 Greatest Wrecks..."
